Ryan Atkinson lost his business and endured extreme stress during a brutal quarter, describing Q4 as the most stressful period of his life. Physical symptoms of stress included canker sores and anxiety triggered by music. He reevaluated his personal and business goals and shifted his approach to growth toward profitability, correct hiring, and sustainability. He emphasizes growth that enables proper hiring and long-term health rather than growth at all costs. He recommends starting video production cheaply when appropriate and scaling thoughtfully. He later built a six-figure agency and hosts a podcast with millions of downloads.
There are some lessons you only learn when life hits you hard. This week's master stared down the loss of his business - "All of Q4 was the biggest punch in the face for me that year. It was the most stressed I've ever been in my life." - and came out the other side with a six-figure agency. Today, he shares the kind of vulnerability and real talk you rarely get from entrepreneurs. And his advice just might help you duck a punch.
"I thought when I [created] Spacebar, I wanted to grow as much as possible, hire as much as possible," Ryan Atkinson says. And his business did grow - second only to his stress levels. "This is probably TMI, but I had canker sores from stress. I couldn't even listen to music, because music would make me anxious," he confesses. Atkinson reached a point where he had to reevaluate both his business and life goals and consider what he was growing toward.
Collection
[
|
...
]